Oh, hello Internet! Couldja please indulge me while I … I … I’ll be back in five! Wait! I mean, 5:04!

I simply gotta, hafta, cannot NOT listen to my <3 …..

*bouncing off my chair*

Song:Listen to your heart

Artist:Roxette

Album:Look Sharp!

Even here at home, with my little, humble speakers, I can remember the bass thumping the club floors all those years ago.

Thank you, Internet, for waiting patiently while I danced (YET AGAIN!) to that Roxette number in the vid above.

The month of June – past, present and future – has a few things that are important to my heart. Hmm. That’s just like all the other months in the year. Never mind. Since it is June now, I will list 3 of those important-to-my-heart things in the month of June here.

I like hanging out with Mummy. Tomorrow, Mum and I will leave on a 3-week holiday. During this time, we will visit a few relatives who are now housebound owing to age-related incapacitation, and we will spend a week in the mountains with friends.

I ought to be anxious about this trip because this is my first long distance trip with Mum since 2006. Mum is bearing down on 82 now, and predictably, has slowed down a good deal since we traipsed across the Far East 7 years ago. Two years ago, Mum visited The Holy Land and parts of the Middle East with friends, but this unholy Jane did not tag along. Mum did very well on that trip and that is probably why, I am more excited than apprehensive about travelling with my older parent now. Meh, I won’t mess with my head-in-the-sand brain. ;-)

Mum singing ‘Tennessee Waltz’ at her 80th birthday do nearly two years ago.This song is one of many that Daddy and she enjoyed waltzing to.

Oh, since we’ll be outta here early tomorrow morning, if any of you* leaves a comment, I will only approve your comment, but not respond until we get back. I switch to ‘Unplug Mode’ in general every chance I get when I’m on holiday. Thank you for understanding.

Below is an excerpt from the newsletter I sent out to my (personal) contacts in June 5 years ago. To be precise, I sent that newsletter on Friday, 27 June 2008. That date is significant to what I’ve referred to in the excerpt next.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Guess who’s my latest Hero of the Day?

This image is from ‘All Things D(igital)’.

When looking through Google Images for a picture, this one cracked me up.

Bill Gates. Yeah, THE Bill Gates.

I’m a decade too l8, you sneer? Oh. Actually, I didn’t much care for him during his reign as the human Uncle Scrooge.

[In the last annual listing of Forbes Fictional Richie Richs, Scrooge McDuck takes the top spot.

Sure, Bill opened the floodGates in terms of technology in our daily lives and I tilt my hat appropriately to that.

But he’s landed on my ‘Wow’ list now because today, Friday, 27 June 2008, is his last working day at the almighty Microsoft. (Apologies, MacUsers!)

Nate’s a Mac user. It’s his birthday this month.

As you all know, Bill Gates is leaving that daily grind to focus on his charitable foundation. And that’s what elevates him in my eyes.

Why should he care about the underprivileged around the world?

I mean, why should he care as much as he does?

Doesn’t he have the world to run?

The top rung to keep warm on that Forbes list?

Those things might have been important to him earlier on, but apparently, not anymore.

There must be others like me, who cannot believe he’s chucking aside all that to pursue something less glamourous in the eyes of the business world mainly, but I admire him now for having the courage to follow his passion and go after what’s important to him.

I’ve got to add, that I believe, that what he’s going to do now on is no more significant than anyone who places their own personal happiness over the perceived standards of the world.

For instance:

A person who chooses to give up a powerful position at work to become a stay-at-home parent.

or

A jet-setting professional who gives up a lucrative career to live on a farm.

To me, (the examples of) the two people I’ve cited above are just as heroic.

I believe

that

the most important thing

is

for me

to direct my listening inward,

tune in to my heart

and

do

what my little ticker tells me

is likely

to make me

happy.

While doing what makes me happy, be it something elementary or eminent, if someone else can benefit, too, even better, me thinks!

I just did not have the time or mood to work on the scheduled topic for July when I got back to the usual backlog of things after a break. I’ve got lots to say about the trip, of course. And I will; when time and mood smile down on me.

Until then, smiles of gratitude across the miles to you, Vampire Lover, Sarah …. and how could I forget Chelsea? :-)

I love nature…all those beautiful sceneries. Awesome ! I feel inner peace and the wonders of God’s creation. I feel his love and I hope everybody loves and protects what he has given us. Wow ! You are on a 3-week holiday with your mom. Have fun and enjoy !. By the way, I’m a parasite single, too. I am with my dad and step mom :)

>I feel inner peace and the wonders of God’s creation.
– You know, I always feel that I can truly pray when I’m in a natural setting. I am too distracted with the lights, sounds and actions during regular Mass. Leave me in a secluded natural spot and boy, can I yammer my head off with the Big Guy!

>I hope everybody loves and protects what he has given us.
– Ah, the destruction of all this beauteous bounty; bulldozed by personal greed.

>Wow ! You are on a 3-week holiday with your mom. Have fun and enjoy !.
– Thanks, Elvie, I did have a good time! Which also means Mum had a great time. :-)

>By the way, I’m a parasite single, too.
– Welcome to my world! :-)

Parasite single. What an awful term, don’t you think? It certainly does not apply to why I’m with my mother at this stage of my life.

Right from the time I could decide such things, I used to say that Dad and Mum were the most important people in my life. Upon graduation at 23 in a distant state, encouraged by my parents to move even further away and experience more new things, I moved out of the country. And kept country hopping until Daddy died.

When Daddy died, I immediately felt like none of my personal and professional accomplishments mattered any more. The thing I cared about the most was my mother not shrivelling up at home on account of loneliness. So I chucked all aside and headed back to be with my mother.

My life today is a far cry from what it used to be on the travel and glitz front, but I am just as happy as I was back then. I’ve promised my mother that the moment I feel dissatisfied being home, I will hit the road again. Four years on, and I’m still here.

>I am with my dad and step mom :)
– I’m sure they must be just as thrilled to have you around. Parents act all grown up, but really? We need to, ahem, keep an eye on them, especially when they begin to slow down.